Mon 25 Apr 2011
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: MURDER IN TRINIDAD (1934).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[7] Comments
MURDER IN TRINIDAD. Fox, 1934. Nigel Bruce, Heather Angel, Victor Jory, Murray Kinnell, Douglas Walton, J. Carrol Naish, Claude King, Pat Somerset, Francis Ford, John Davidson, Noble Johnson, Paul Panzer, Ivan Simpson. Screenplay by Seton I. Miller, based on the novel by John W. Vandercook. Director: Louis King. Shown at Cinecon 44, Hollywood CA, Aug-Sept 2008.
It’s always good to see Nigel Bruce in a starring role without his fuddy-duddy mannerisms that came to characterize his on-screen persona, especially in as nifty a crime film as this one is.
As fond as I am of Peter Lorre’s Mr. Moto character, Fox’s first try at a film version of the Vandercook novel is superior to the later remake, Mr. Moto in Danger Island. The characters (and perhaps the film audience as well) are put off by Bruce’s casual manner on first acquaintance, but there’s a sharp intelligence behind that exterior, as his antagonists will soon learn, to their regret.
As detective Bertram Lynch, Bruce also has a pet monkey that probably contributes to the off-putting first impression, but the monkey might be seen as a metaphor for the position Lynch ultimately puts the murderer in. One of the highlights of the weekend.
Previously on this blog:
JOHN W. VANDERCOOK and BERTRAM LYNCH, a double profile by David Vineyard.
April 25th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
It is nice to know that this movie exists. A quick look through my usual sources on the collector-to-collector market has come up dry, but somebody ought to have a copy, I hope, I hope.
April 26th, 2011 at 6:18 am
I’ve been looking for this one a long time myself!
April 26th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Putting this even higher on my wish list is the review the movie got in the New York Times at at the time. Not often did the Times have much to say in a positive vein about detective thrillers, but they did this time:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=980CE5D7143CE23ABC4E52DFB366838F629EDE
“What with details of diamond smuggling, two mysterious killings and a sterling performance contributed by Nigel Bruce, the picturization of John W. Vandercook’s novel, “Murder in Trinidad,” is easily one of the best films that have been shown at the Mayfair in months. With all due respect to the author’s share of the work, it should be stated that the shadow melodrama is very fortunate in having such a restrained and efficient player as Mr. Bruce in the leading rôle.”
April 27th, 2011 at 9:50 am
I’m glad to see this nifty thriller getting some long overdue attention. Now let’s hope that the film will eventually be released on DVD.
April 27th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Well, between their film channel and the bit of a Warner Archive-esque program I believe they’ve started (haven’t they? I’m losing track…), perhaps sooner rather than later…
November 23rd, 2015 at 3:22 am
It will be screening at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, CA, on Dec 11-12, 2015.
May 6th, 2017 at 11:22 pm
Apologies for responding to this post six years after it was posted, Lord help us, but did anyone attend the screening at the Stanford Theatre that Scott Ratner mentioned in his reply?
This is a movie I’d love to see–but, in lieu of that unlikely event’s actually happening, I’d like to know anyone else’s thoughts on it.
Karl